Johnson County first responders deal with rain impact

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JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. — Heavy rain led to a busy day for first responders in Johnson County, with roads closed and drivers stranded in flood waters.

“Water’s starting to come through the bottom,” one 911 caller told dispatchers.

They got the call to County Road 225 W.

“The car was out in the middle of a decent sized amount of moving water and there were three occupants on top of the vehicle,” Trafalgar Fire Chief Mark Dunn said.

Dunn said all three were okay when they got to the scene. Another driver used their truck to enter the water and push the other vehicle out, which Dunn said they do not recommend doing.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said a driver on Morgantown Rd. hit water rushing over it, went off the road, through a yard and into a creek.

“He was able to exit the vehicle through the sunroof before the water got higher than the vehicle,” Major Andy Fisher said.

Fisher said there were at least four calls for cars in the water throughout the county, and thankfully everyone was okay in those cases. But the high water is why they had to close multiple roads, some at spots that don’t typically flood.

“We’ve had a lot of calls, the problem is with all the snowfall the ground is so wet that with the amount of rain that we’ve had we can’t keep up with it,” Fisher said.

They weren’t alone. The rain left its mark in Monroe County, Putnam County and Bartholomew County, too, where first responders took pictures of high water on the roads.

Fisher said into the later hours, their concern was drivers traveling around warning signs in the dark. Moving into the morning, Fisher said they’re concerned with dropping temperatures and wet roads becoming icy roads.